


Gus' Tale

by aschicca



Category: Queer as Folk (US)
Genre: M/M, POV First Person, post-513
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2011-07-24
Updated: 2011-07-24
Packaged: 2017-10-21 17:20:16
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,898
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/227683
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/aschicca/pseuds/aschicca
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Gus tells an interesting tale to Debbie and the others.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Gus' Tale

Debbie’s POV

It’s Saturday morning, and the diner is full. I have a double shift today but I really don’t mind. Michael and Carl keep nagging me. They want me to take it easy; I love them for their concern, but what the fuck would I do at home? Watch TV and eat ice cream? No, thanks. This is my place, for God’s sake! It’s my home as much as my house is. I know they understand that… I just wish they’d stop fucking nagging me!

I serve two pink plate specials to a couple of cute boys, then I spot Melanie and Lindsay, with Gus and JR, coming in and sitting in the corner booth. Michael, Ted and Emmett enter right behind them and join them. Smiling, I walk towards their booth.

Michael has picked up JR from her stroller and he’s jumping her on his knees. My granddaughter laughs her gurgling laugh and everyone joins her. She’s fucking irresistible! I’m happy the girls decided to come back from Toronto; their family is here, their home is here, the fucking fathers of their kids are here. It was about time they realized that.

As I approach their booth, I spot Gus drawing something on a big, white piece of paper. His brow furrowed in concentration, his hazel eyes so like his father’s, focused and sharp. This kid is growing up to be a heartbreaker, I just know.

“Ma, what are you doing here? I thought you had the afternoon shift?” Here Michael goes with the fucking nagging.

“Kiki had an emergency so I took a double shift. And I don’t want to hear a word about it, got it?” I glare at him and I can see he wants to say more but, lucky for him, Michael decides against it. “Good move,” I can’t resist saying. “Where’s Ben, by the way?” I ask Michael.

“He and Hunter wanted to hit the gym early today. I think they’ll come around later.”

“Good, I’ll make sure they’ll eat a big breakfast when I see them. Now, what do you guys want to eat?”

They all place their orders and I leave their table to go and put them in. When I return a few minutes later, I see that Gus is still drawing and, after giving everyone their breakfast, I ask, “Gus, what are you doing? Do you want to become the next Picasso?”

Gus raises his head and looks at me solemnly, “Can’t be that. Daddy says Justin is the next ‘Casso.” Then he looks at his mother and asks, “Mommy? What’s a ‘Casso?”

Everyone laughs and Lindsay promises Gus she’ll tell him all about Picasso after breakfast. Satisfied, Gus starts drawing again and I become even more curious. “What is it you’re drawing, Gus?”

“It’s a gift for Justin, Grandma. Last week he drew a picture of me, now I’m drawing him. I’m gonna give it to him today ‘cause it’s a ‘boys only’ weekend!” Gus replies excitedly.

I don’t have to ask what a ‘boys only’ weekend is. Brian and Justin started taking Gus for the weekend once every two weeks – either at the loft or in that fucking palace Brian bought some time ago – shortly after the girls came back from Canada. I know Mel’s not really happy about it, but I believe it’s good for Gus to spend time with his fathers. Both of them, yes, ‘cause no matter what anyone says, Sunshine is Gus’s father, too.

“That’s great, honey,” I smile at Gus. “I’m sure Sunshine will love your drawing.”

“Yes,” Gus replies, a serious expression on his face. “Justin will love it. He told me he will always love everything I’ll give him.”

That’s my Sunshine, always making sure Gus knows he is loved no matter what. I might need to give him one of my hugs as soon as I see him.

“So, is Daddy coming here to take you, today?” I ask Gus again.

“Yep, he and Justin should be here already…”

“I bet something came up…” Mel says, trying and failing to keep her voice down.

“Mel, please.” Lindsay looks at Mel with a calming expression on her face.

“What? What did I say? We all know why Brian is never on time, don’t we?” Mel’s eyes roam the table, searching the other’s expressions for back-up. She finds some.

Michael shakes his head and smiles, Emmett nods with a grin on his face. Ted, instead, sips his coffee and says nothing, surprising Mel but not me. Teddy and Brian have developed a whole new relationship since they started working together. I think Teddy might have seen a side of Brian few others could see.

Of course it’s not as if Mel’s wrong here. Brian’s probably fucking Sunshine right this minute and that’s the reason why they’re not here, yet. But Mel’s tone has the usual bitterness it takes when she talks about Brian and, I guess, her tone doesn’t sit well with Ted anymore. Nor with me, to be honest, mostly because Gus is here listening.

“I’m sure Daddy will be here soon, Gus, you just wait and see.” I tell Gus, smiling and breaking the tension. Gus nods, and I ask him what activities he has planned for his ‘boys only’ weekend.

“Justin and I want to go to the zoo today but Daddy didn’t seem very happy with our choice,” Gus says, and everyone laughs and nods. It’s actually funny to picture Brian at the zoo.

“Do you think you two will be able to convince your Daddy, Gus?” I ask again.

“Yeah, Daddy is always grumpy for a while when he doesn’t want to do something, but then Justin and I always win. He does everything we want. He just likes to say no in the beginning.”

Seriously, is there any other way to describe Brian? This kid has his father down to a T!

“That’s because Daddy loves you very much, Gus,” Michael says, smiling, and Gus nods.

“Yes, I know. Daddy loves me, and he loves Justin, too.”

It’s almost comic as the whole table freezes. We all stare at Gus as he, raising an eyebrow in a typical Kinney fashion, continues, “He told me so himself.”

I swear this kid knows exactly what he’s doing dropping all this so casually on us. Of course, this is not something I can let pass without further investigation! “Brian told you that, uh? When?”

“After I asked, Grandma.” Gus replies, looking at me like it’s the most obvious thing in the world and he can’t believe I’m even asking. It’s clear how Gus is taking after Brian. I swear he’s being sarcastic now.

Apparently, Michael can’t let the chance of knowing more pass him by, either, and he asks, “When did you ask, Gus? And what happened?”

“Daddy and I were making breakfast, Justin was in the shower. I asked Daddy if he loved Justin and he said yes.”

I’m about to give in to the urge to yell, “We need more details!” to Gus, when Emmett comes to my rescue and asks for more details himself.

Gus seems surprised by our interest, he stops and looks like he’s deep in thought for a moment, then he decides it’s okay to give us more, and answers, “I asked Daddy if he loved me, and he said he does. Then he wanted to know why I was asking and I said it was nice to hear it. He laughed and said that it was. Then I asked him if he liked to hear it, too, and he just looked at me. In the end he said that yes, it was nice for him, too, now that he believed. I didn’t understand what that meant and asked Daddy. He said, ‘Gus, it’s not easy to believe someone when they say they love you. Words are…” and then he used a bad word, the one that starts with ‘s.’ I asked if he believed me, and he said that I was the only one he’d always believe. Then, I asked if he believed Justin, and Daddy laughed and said that Justin made sure he did a long time ago. I didn’t understand that either, but didn’t ask.”

Gus stops talking for a while and takes a sip of his orange juice. He has all of us hanging on his every word and I’ll be damned if he doesn’t know it perfectly! The little shit!

Finally, he starts talking again, “Then I asked if he loved Justin, and Daddy said yes… and then he looked behind me and said, ‘Don’t you get used to this, Sunshine.’ I didn’t know Justin was there, too, but I had so much fun watching him laugh and hit Daddy on the shoulder. And then they kissed. Mama? Is that what you meant when you said you knew why Daddy is late? Is he kissing Justin now?”

Mel blushes, and we all laugh.

“I bet he is, Gus.” Ted replies for Mel. I think Teddy is the only one who still has his voice after what we heard from Gus. Maybe Brian’s in for one of my hugs, too. Assuming he’ll allow me to give him one, that is.

Right on cue, Brian and Sunshine come into the diner, and Gus launches himself at them, yelling, “Daddy! Justin!”

“Good morning, Sonny Boy,” Brian says, sweeping Gus into his arms, and bending towards Justin so Gus can kiss him hello, too.

The three of them make their way towards us and, as soon as they’re close enough, I hug Sunshine, tight, if his “Oomph!” is to be believed.

“Deb?” Brian says, after making Gus sit at the table once again, “Would you mind not killing Justin? I have uses for him.”

“Asshole,” I mutter releasing Justin and trying, unsuccessfully, to reserve the same treatment to Brian. He looks at me with a weird expression on his face, and I roll my eyes at him.

“Gus,” Justin says, “If you finished your breakfast, we could go now. The zoo awaits us!”

Brian rolls his eyes, a disgusted expression on his face, and we all, Justin included, laugh. Brian bents to whisper something into Justin’s ear, and I, being the closest to them, hear him perfectly. “You so owe me for this, Sunshine,” Brian says, and Justin winks, clearly not worried by the possible payback.

“I’m ready, Justin!” Gus says, while Lindsay puts Gus' drawing in his bag before handing it to Brian, and reminding him of sleeping hours and rules.

“Daddy?” Gus calls, interrupting Lindsay’s tirade.

“Yes, Sonny Boy?”

“Do you love me, Daddy?”

I think at that moment you could have heard a pin drop on the diner’s floor.

“Yes, Sonny Boy, you know I do.”

“I believe you.” Gus says seriously, making Brian, and all of us who had listened to Gus’ story, laugh. But, and I’m sure I can speak for everyone here, there’s a lump in the back of our throats, and our laughs, contrary to Brian’s, are a bit choked with emotion.

“That’s good, Sonny Boy.” Brian says, and then the three of them exit the diner together; Gus, with his hands in Brian’s and Justin’s, is jumping a little from excitement. They are a sight.

Fuck, I better go back to wait tables before I start crying right here and now.


End file.
